Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Market consensus: sixteen analysts give an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" on VMC (9 buys, 6 holds, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $324.85.
• Recent quarter: Vulcan reported EPS of $1.70, missing the $2.11 consensus and down from $2.17 year‑ago, while revenue of $1.91B slightly missed estimates and rose 3.2% year‑over‑year.
• Capital return: the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 (annualized $2.08) for a ~0.7% yield and a payout ratio of ~25.6%.

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $324.8462.

A number of research firms have recently commented on VMC. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE VMC opened at $297.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a market capitalization of $38.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.10. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $231.76 and a one year high of $331.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $290.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $293.80.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The firm's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is 25.62%.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the third quarter worth $425,938,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter worth $383,613,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter worth $273,861,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 48.3% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,511,427 shares of the construction company's stock worth $464,945,000 after buying an additional 491,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company NYSE: VMC is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company's primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.

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